Walmart, Sears To Ban The Sale Of Confederate Flags

The auction site eBay announced today that it will ban Confederate flags and related items containing the flag’s image from its website.

Johnna Hoff, an eBay spokesperson, said Tuesday that the auction site has determined that the Confederate flag has “become a contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism.” It is banning the sale of Confederate flags and “many items containing this image.”

The website’s announcement follows similar bans by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Sears Holdings Corp (which owns both Sears and Kmart stores). Both companies said they would stop selling products bearing the Confederate flag, a week after a white gunman shot nine dead at a historically black South Carolina church.

“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment — whether in our stores or on our web site,” said Walmart spokesman Brian Nick. “We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly — this is one of those instances.”